mixtape | bristol's finest

i'm addicted to blip at the moment, enough to upload songs to blip myself rather than relying on what's out there. and today i did a bit of a tribute to the city of bristol theme.

::: beatnik filmstars - apathetic english
::: flying saucer attack - beach red lullaby
::: crescent - 360
::: girlboy girl - unfamiliar
::: massive attack - daydreaming
::: the heads - quad
::: k.s.kollective - (to a) secret brother
::: nub - known unknown
::: strangelove - the runaway brothers
::: the blue aeroplanes - jacket hangs
::: portishead - machine gun
::: movietone - hydra
::: tricky - ponderosa
::: third eye foundation - the out sound from way in
::: roni size/reprezanet - heroes
::: big joan - here to help

get the lot.

pic: stolen from flickr - spent many happy hours in revolver...

girlboy girl | veritablement pop

another great bristol band, this one very much in the beatnik filmstars camp (the record is produced by andrew & john from that band, plus various members of girlboy girl have played in the beatniks at different times), all scratchy guitars and thin bass sounds flooded with the kind of creative energy that gives indie a good name.

'unfamiliar' and 'all she wanted' are particular winners in my book.

the record was released by the hugely prolific blackbean & placenta tape club, a label that definitely should be in the indie hall of fame for its services to bands that perhaps may not have seen the light of day otherwise (though in gbg's case they released a few other records after this so perhaps not).

released by blackbean & placenta tape club in 1998.

get some.

various | tba picks of 2008

i'm not one for compiling meticulous best of lists, my listening approach is far too scattershot for that. but this year has seen some excellent albums. it's also seen a resurgence in vinyl sales, something few people predicted when the ipod was first released. so it seems traditional formats are surviving the digital age, even if actual physical sales continue their decline. what that means for the future of the music industry is relevant only to those in its direct employ; for the rest of us, the main thing is that the music continues...

anyway, here's a list in no particular order, of albums i've enjoyed this year. these are the ones i listened to most, got most excited about.

there are plenty of others that would probably be in this list if i'd given them more ear time (hello clinic, bon iver, roots manuva, neon neon, mercury rev, johann johansson, growing, fuck buttons...).

anyway, i'd better post this before i change my mind.

::: ra ra riot - the rhumb line (oh, la)
::: the verve - forth (appalachian springs)
::: darker my love - 2 (two ways out)
::: coldplay - viva la vida (lovers in japan/reign of love)
::: fleet foxes - fleet foxes (tiger mountain peasant song)
::: vampire weekend - vampire weekend (bryn)
::: deerhunter - microcastle (little kids)
::: stephen malkmus & the jicks - real emotional trash (out of reaches)
::: portishead - third (machine gun)
::: uzi & ari - headworms (headworms)
::: sarandon - kill twee pop! (joe's record)
::: lykke li - youth novels (little bit)
::: james blackshaw - litany of echoes (gate of ivory)
::: flight of the conchords - flight of the conchords (the most beautiful girl)
::: the great leap forward - finished unfinished business (tolerance and respect)
::: beatnik filmstars - the purple fez club social 72 (scrabbling)
::: the dodos - visiter (red and purple)
::: frightened rabbit - the midnight organ fight (i feel better)

zipped 1 and 2.

and finally, two biggest disappointments this year came from mogwai (it just hasn't got me excited, despite batcat) and plush (just a bit dull really). oh and death cab for cutie get points for trying to prove the oc hasn't ruined them, but really they tried just a little bit too hard and forgot to write any decent songs.

and finally finally, missing in action because i haven't got hold of them yet are new albums by desalvo (i hear it's a monster) and james orr complex.

speeder zine #1

Speeder Zine #1

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Music Culture music reviews

the follow up to kylie and a fairly hefty 52 pages. features interviews with beatnik filmstars (yes again), guided by voices, insides, madder rose, linus, gene, t.u.o.b. and a guy who claimed to be king arthur. plus tons of reviews of various stuff and a comics article from the much-missed andy roberts of linus. produced around 1993/4 i think. and i'm still reet proud of it.

listen while you read (not got round to ripping my linus records, but will do soon):

::: guided by voices - "wished i was a giant"
::: beatnik filmstars - apathetic english swine
::: madder rose - car song
::: gene - sleep well tonight (i still have that demo of for the dead somewhere)
::: insides - tikky (from volume 10)
::: tuob - god's servant
::: guided by voices - expecting brainchild

archived.

kylie fanzine #1

i'm back from the uk, and i brought with me various "papers" that i've hoarded over the years. and so begins the laborious process of scanning them in.

the first fruit is the first fanzine i ever did, back in i think 1992, with my friend conrad. it has some bands that i still really love, like moose, beatnik filmstars, bleach (though it's a rubbish q&a!) and pram. some that have disappeared into obscurity (coma and zu). and even one i didn't particularly like at the time but now rather do (adorable).

and it has tons of adolescent hand-ringing about everything from riot grrrl to sex. still, at least we didn't waste time sitting on the fence.

i miss this pritt-stick-and-scissors approach to design. it's all too easy these days.

Kylie Zine #1

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Music Culture scan fanzine

beatnik filmstars | the purple fez 72 club social

my love affair with beatnik filmstars started in 1992 when i saw them supporting moose at, i think, the mauretania in bristol at one of a series of gigs promoted by the band under the name "heaven up here".

the beatniks arose from much-loved indie pop types the groove farm, an association they initially did their best to distance themselves from. this being 1992, the band were heavily into their effects pedals, as evidenced by the ep they released shortly after, "themes from foreverdrome". this was followed up by the consistently excellent "laidback & english" album. there then followed a shedload of 7" eps and albums, their sound evolving from rough-edged shoegazing to even rougher edged fall/pavement/guided by voices indie rock.

then they stopped. a couple of them did the quiet slo-core kyoko and a few other things. and then they came back.

and this year they've released their best album yet. for some time i've felt beatnik filmstars' songs were hampered by those rough edges and by their sheer volume - the sheer number of songs someimes getting a bit wearying, the lack of editing turning great albums into merely good. but finally they've shed both, somewhat. "purple fez" is slowed down, quieter, more pop sensible, more subtle, more sophisticated and, i'm very happy to say, more moose! (the band not the animal.) it's full of hummable tunes and delicate guitar moments, the fewer exploding energetic frenzied bursts now having a much greater impact as a result.

here are three of my favourites:

::: beatnik filmstars - scabbling
::: beatnik filmstars - hospital ward
::: beatnik filmstars - halo

archived here.

you can buy some of the records direct from the band's website, or from emusic, amongst other places. one day i'll dig up my old photos of them and scan them in for everyone to get excited about.